Continuation Of A Tradition
by Harryfan011
Summary: Some traditions are meant to be passed. My first fan fiction on this site. Hope you all like it!


******Disclaimer:** This awesome world of Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling. I am just playing with her characters and I don't own anything except the plot.

**Author's Notes:**

**I'm so excited to be back in the world of writing. I was actually playing with this idea for a long time but was unable to pen it down because I was preparing for my exams. **  
**Now, I hope you like my story and please share your valuable suggestions and views with me to aid me to improve my writing because without all of you, I will be nothing.**  
**Last but not the least, I'm really grateful and appreciate the help given to me by Eric ( Spenser Hemmingway) who took out time out of his busy schedule to edit this story. **  
**Hope you ENJOY READING!**

The night sky howled with rage as blue streaks of lightning illuminated the sky with a thunderous roar. The torrential rain was lashing down as the cold ground shivered from the chill of the night, hoping that the sun soon overcomes this shroud of darkness, the war in the night skies finally comes to a halt.

This was the same thing a young boy of about five years with striking green eyes and messy raven black hair was hoping as he hastily closed the curtains of his room's window and put a pillow over his visage to avoid the sounds of thunder entering his eardrums, but his efforts went in vain as he cowered in fear and made a valiant attempt to fight his terror.

Albus Severus Potter, son of the 'Man Who Defeated Voldemort', Harry Potter and legendary Chaser Ginny Potter, was pretty much sure that if somebody came to know about his stupid fear of lightning, then he will be doomed forever as he will be a source of mockery for the rest of his life, as well after his departure from the living world. Thank Merlin still nobody knew about his baseless apprehension, otherwise there might be a possibility that he might be disowned.

"No, no… Albus don't think like that! You will never be disowned. Your parents, siblings, and family love you, and Grandma and Grandpa will stop it. NO! Who I am fooling? They will side with Mum and Dad. Aw, please for Merlin's sake stop this damned lightning and let me sleep! Today was hell. Not only did I made Lily cry and suffer the punishment of not playing Quidditch while Teddy came to visit us, but I also had to endure James silly jokes… and to top it all, this!" Another crackling of thunder shook the night sky made him shudder and he let out a terrorized yelp.

Ginny woke with a start, and the first thing she heard was the sound of rain and the deafening growl of the night sky as the clouds clashed with each other in the battle for supremacy. Probably she woke due to the storm, but as soon as she moved to let sleep overwhelm her, she heard a scream, a very familiar scream, but was unable to point out to whom it belonged. Before she could ponder over the noise, another scream echoed and she quickly roused her husband.

"Harry, wake up. Something's not right," she said while shaking him from his slumber.

"What's a matter, Gin?" he asked groggily as he yawned and rubbed his eyes to fight the last remnants of sleep struggling to engulf him.

"I think something's not right," she calmly repeated to her husband who was still dominated by sleep.

"I think you must have woken due to the storm, and must have imagined the whole something's not right." He was interrupted though they heard the scream of fear reverberate around their bedroom like somebody just dropped a pin on a glass table, and they swiftly slipped into their slippers to check what was wrong.

"I think you should stay here. I'll check to see what is wrong. You already lack your sleep due to your last case," said Ginny.

"But, what if you require my help and…"

"Then, I will call you. Okay, go to sleep, my love. I'll be right back," she replied as she grabbed her wand and made an effort to cling to her night gown around her body to stop from shivering.

She walked down her home's hallway as she peeked inside her children's rooms, but she smiled slightly when she peeked inside Albus's room. She observed that the curtains were closed, but what really amazed her was the way that Al was trying to cover his ears with a pillow. It made her summon up memories of her childhood when she used to do the same process.

She stealthily walked inside the room, and sat on his bed to verify whether he was asleep, or still trying to sleep.

"Albus," was the only word she required to say as the boy in question jumped and shrieked before calming enough to see his mother gazing at him with concern.

"Mu... Mum, what are you doing here?"

"I was just downstairs to get something to drink," she lied hastily. "Are you all right, Al?" but she already knew the answer to that question as the bags under her son's eyes, and the pale white skin was screaming at her that her son suffered with the same problem she once had, and hence, became the next victim of the curse, or should she say 'tradition'.

"Yes. I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep. Mum, you should rest," he said inwardly hoping that her mother didn't catch his phobia, but when he saw her looking at him with a pointed look as her eyes depicted her concern which vividly spoke stop-lying-otherwise-it-will-be-bad-for- your-health. He gulped and admitted his fear to his mother.

He relaxed for a moment as he felt like somebody had took over the burden from his little shoulders, but it was soon replaced by a feeling of dread, and he began repeating in his head. "Please don't disown me… please don't…"

"Disown you?" said Ginny with a hint of smile on her face.

'Oh no, you fool. What have you done?' as he saw her mother's smiling face. His mother's beautiful smile could make him smile and make all of his worries go on any given day, but unfortunately today was not any given day, and he was pretty much sure that this will be the last time he would see her smile. Today could be the first day where he would have liked to face his mother's wrath.

Even then, he made one last futile effort to change her mother's mind." I'll overcome my fear… ple… please forgive me one… last time," he said meekly.

As soon as Ginny heard her son's meek response, she couldn't help herself control a mirthful laugh escaping her lips." You really think that I would disown you for just being afraid of lightning?" she questioned.

Albus face lightened up like a firecracker, and his emerald eyes gleamed with relief which made her remember her husband's eyes after he saw her following the 'Battle of Hogwarts' completely fine and healthy.

"I thought that since you and Dad are legends and since I was afraid of such a petty thing, you…" He was cut short in his reply as he felt her mother's arm embracing him into a hug, and finally the warmth and peace which was evading him the whole night was finally put to rest as he cuddled closer to her mother and basked in her loving warmth.

"I'm sorry that I thought about that."

"Al, please don't apologize because it wasn't your fault, and it was only natural that you fear lightning, but yes, I'm a little disappointed that you never came to us. Promise me that from now on you will always come to us for whatever problems, no matter how small or stupid it seems."

"I promise, Mummy."

"Good. Don't ever forget that we love you and will always be there to guide you whenever you will require our help. And, your little incident made me recall so many memories of my childhood like I was reliving them once again."

"What do you mean?"

"Al, you are not the only one who is afraid of thunder. I also was really afraid and my fear went as long as till after the battle at Hogwarts."

"Really?!" he sat up excitedly and continued. "But you were a Chaser, and you had to play in so many matches in stormy weather, but then did Grandpa and Grandma never helped you?"

"No, I was always very independent, and tried to do all the things on my own, and so I tried very hard to overcome my fear, but never succeeded. As far as your doubt as to why I was always able to play matches, it was so because I used to gather courage from others, and knew that nobody will let the mars of thunder harm me, but when I was alone at night, then I always got scared."

"Then, how did you beat lightning?" he asked innocently.

"Now that's an interesting story."

The Burrow, August 28, 1997

"Mrs. Weasley, do you know where Ginny is right now?" Harry enquired to his girlfriend's as well as his surrogate mother. "Actually, I never got time to talk to her today since I was busy with Kingsley regarding my Auror training."

"She must be in her bedroom my dear, but first, you should freshen up and eat your dinner before going to her because you were absent from breakfast as well as lunch, and I don't want any arguments," she replied as her house vibrated from the thunderous roar of the storm as it became more furious.

"Okay, Molly," he replied with a smile which made her heart melt when she heard him call her 'Molly'.

After eating Molly's delectable and palate-relishing dinner, he moved upstairs to look for his girlfriend, but was stopped in his tracks when he saw that his beautiful Ginny was covering her head with a pillow, and her always open curtains were closed forcefully as well as could sense that she had put a silencing charm in her room.

"Hey Gin, are you awake?" he said softly in a manner which may cause her no disturbance if she was asleep, but he was again astonished when Ginny practically sprang from her bed, and she rested a hand on her heart when she saw that only Harry was there.

"Hey, how was your day?" she promptly asked, and desired that he has not observed her reaction to his words.

"It was good. Are you scared of lightning and thunder?"

"No! What made you think like that?" she nervously replied as a stone settled in her stomach as she saw her boyfriend's face.

"Nothing, actually I was quite surprised by the way you were trying to sleep because you never close your curtains while sleeping as you like the first rays of the morning to caress your face."

She smiled inwardly at seeing how well Harry knew her both inside and out. "I was just trying to sleep, but those erratic sounds just didn't allow me to have my sleep. Aren't you grateful that because of this you could talk to me?" She replied playfully.

"Oh, I will be forever grateful of this thunder for giving us a chance to talk, but let's face it. You are lying."

"OKAY, I am scared of lightning!" she snapped, and Harry sprang back a little by her sudden outburst.

He quickly calmed himself, sat on her bed, and made a move to hold her hands, but she moved her hands away. "Many people are petrified by thunderstorms. Gin, fearing thunderstorms will not make you weak, and, in my eyes, it makes you even more beautiful."

"Oh, how's that, my love?" she asked sarcastically in which she completely concealed her famous Weasley temper.

"Because it adds to your never-to-die spirit which always made me wonder that how someone could after suffering from so many hardships can still smile and enjoy life to its full extent."

"Do you know how it feels like to relive your worst memories like I experience on witnessing a flash of thunder?"

"Yes, I do, Gin. I do."

These words piqued her interest and before she could not stop her tongue, she spoke," Are you still afraid?"

He chuckled. "No, I am not afraid of thunder anymore."

"See, so you could not tell me how I'm feeling right now. I know that most children fear thunder, but have you seen an adult having issues with thunderstorms, have you? No. It is really pathetic."

"No, it's not." He tried to console her but knew it would be a failure, and they both remained silent, but the silence was broken when Harry spoke. "How did you get your fear of lightning, Ginny?"

She sighed and replied, "I was very young and was just playing with Bill when the twins told me that they have hid my blanket in the garden. When I went to retrieve it, suddenly out of nowhere a streak of lightning fell near me, and I shrieked and ran away. How did you get… you know… your fear?"

"Oh, actually, I really don't remember the finer details, but I remember that I forgot to give Dudley his medicines, and because of that, he needed to be admitted to the hospital. So, as the punishment for my 'devilish' act, I was beaten and was asked to completely remove the weeds from the garden during the night time with a downpour occurring at that time. The next thing I remember is a tree falling and some streaks of light flashing in the sky. I was so terrified of the storm that I ran back to the house to take shelter, but, of course, they refused as they believed it was the way I had to suffer for my 'sins', and so, I cried myself to sleep. Hence, that was the way I began to fear thunderstorms."

Ginny felt her heart shattering into a million of shards as she heard his tale, and knew that her heart would always be in tears whenever she heard about his memories of his childhood before Hogwarts. Those bastards were so lucky that they had escaped her fury. She was sure that if they were ever caught by her, she would torture them in ways that would have made Voldemort cower in fear.

"Ginny, it's all right. These are things of the past; they can never harm me now," Harry said while embracing her into a loving hug as he saw his lover's eyes brimming with tears.

When she calmed down with her eyes still red from crying on her boyfriend's shirt, she asked," Then how did you conquer your fear?"

"Actually, I don't know exactly because they instantly disappeared when I came to Hogwarts, but I believe that I started to see the beauty of thunder."

"I don't exactly understand what do you mean to say?"

"I mean, that before coming to school, I believed that I was a servant and the only emotions I knew were pain and loneliness. I was never loved, you know, and so I see only the negative side of every aspect of life including nature. But, when I came to Hogwarts and had friends, I was happy for the first time in my life and enjoyed my life. For the first time, I began to appreciate the beauty of the nature and like the music produced by them."

"Can you please sleep with me tonight?" Ginny asked after he finished his answer.

"Sure, but what if Mrs. Weasley came in and saw us, then…"

"Then, I will tell Mum that I couldn't sleep and you helped me. Okay? Now, let's go to sleep."

He laughed when he heard her enthusiastic response and pecked her lightly on her lips and whispered," Good night my love."

"Good night, and Harry thanks for helping me to overcome my fear."

"And how?"he enquired.

"I know that until you love me, until then, nothing can defeat me because I know you will never let me fall."

Unbeknownst to them, the eldest Weasley couple watched them with pride and peace that they would hold each other until the end of their days, and that their angel would always be protected in the loving arms of their 'seventh son'.

Ginny Potter smiled when she saw that her son finally succumbed to sleep as she bent down to kiss his forehead, whispered good night, and observed that a small smile appeared on his face.

"Sweet dreams, my son. I'm sure that one day, this will become a good story for your children," she said as she gently laid her son, covered him with his blanket, and moved into the hallway to join her husband as the first rays of morning cleaved the darkness of the night sky.

**A/N: I hope that you'll like it. Please tell me your suggestions regarding this one shot. Will wait for your valuable opinion. **

**Till next time,**

**Harryfan011.**


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